A/N: Everyone misses Leo. Readers, cast, and author alike. *sigh* Moving on.

Feather: Yea! It's still a big work in progress, so if you have any song ideas or suggestions, feel free to bring them up. :) Meanwhile, revel in the many questions. They shall be answered. Eventually. *cackles*

Chapter 22: Connection

If looks could set things on fire, the entire garage would've been engulfed by flames. Raphael's glare had met everything under the low-rise ceiling, and its intensity traveled through his voice. "What do ya mean ya won't say?" he asked into his Shell Cell.

Gavin sighed on the other end, though it sounded more like an annoyed huff. "I've already given you a courtesy call informing you of what happened during her work shift."

"Yeah, an hour after she didn't show at our meetin' spot."

"Why does it not suffice?"

"Maybe 'cuz I wanna see her?"

"Wouldn't that be unwise? Hospitals are dangerous to visit for your…kind."

"Don't act like ya give a shit, Anders," Raph countered, low. "This is all in yer interest."

"Actually, this is in my daughter's interest." When Gavin paused, a subtle snort sounded. "Say what you will about her time with me, but I tried keeping her away from hospitals—not in them."

"This ain't our fault. She—"

"Has been admitted twice for your sakes. One of which times was meant to prove something that she never should've thought she had to."

"I realize that now," Raphael mumbled. Memories of his wife sitting in a hospital bed—her wrist and head bandaged—struck him so deep, his glare faltered. It returned once Gavin shuffled over the line, though; the mutant could practically sense distrust emanating off his phone.

"She's been in more danger with the Hamato clan in nearly a year than she's ever been in seventeen years with me and Mia. As a father, how would you feel?"

Raph paused at the thought before frowning. "Wouldn't know the first thing a father would feel. It ain't like I got enough hope ta entertain the idea, but…we care too. An' we do our best ta keep her safe."

"You mean after your troubles endanger her?"

"Hey, it was yer research that led Bishop ta her at the start!"

"How about since then? She could've lived a new life as Sarah Brown, away from Bishop's eyes and free of the pain that's plagued her for most of her life. Yet she chose to stay in the city. For you Hamatos.

"I thought it would end with the heartbreak you brought on her last winter. Lord knows she cried enough to flood the Earth a second time. Then feck me, she gave you another chance."

'Feck? Who the hell says feck?'

"Now that chance has led here, Raphael." Though Gavin continued with the same point, his somewhat dwindled rage softened his tone. "I've kept quiet while watching Anemia overcome my child because Mia had also given me a second chance. But at least I didn't waste it. I never let her put herself in danger, and kept her far away from my demons. I never endangered her—especially not for my own sake."

"Ya got no idea how many times I've tried talkin' her out'a givin' blood 'n shit!" Raphael bellowed. He knew if he squeezed his cell any more, it'd crack. However, the tight grip was the only thing keeping his anger contained. "We've been tryin' 'n tryin'. But she wouldn't give in. I blame that stubbornness on ya."

"Did she hold you at gun point, demand you take blood? Otherwise, you could've stopped her."

"Anders—"

"I've seen enough harm done to my clan. I won't stand for more!"

"She's our clan too!"

"Like hell she is, you fecking gobshite." Gavin's words were low with a strange, southern-like drawl to them. Raph had only recently noticed the change whenever the redhead surpassed lividness, and it was how he knew the man's continuation wouldn't be in his favor. "I won't reveal the name of the hospital."

"Kusokurae, Anders," Raphael spat in return. His Shell Cell crackled by his ear, damaging the connection, so he screamed over the following static. "She's my wife; I've got every right ta see her!"

There was a tense pause as the reveal sunk into the redhead's mind. Raph cursed his slip in seconds, yet a part of him wanted to finally flaunt the truth. No matter what Gavin did or thought, he couldn't annul the couple's vows or weaken the connection they shared. They had endured too much crap—especially for the sake of each other—and knowing Nia would also fight for them ironed her husband's tone.

"Ya heard me, Anders."

"I see no ring on her finger, Hamato."

"I'm still savin' up for the rings."

Gavin scoffed. "Without a job, what can you expect to afford?"

"I've got ways."

"Not with her. Not anymore."

"We're married, dammit!"

"There are no ways she can truly be married to you. Who sanctioned it? Were there witnesses?"

Raphael glanced at the garage floor, his trembling form threatening his cell phone further.

"See? It's not real. None of this has been. So wake up. If you care for Nia, know what's best. Leave her out of your dangerous lives like I did for Mia. Goodbye, Sir."

Raphael didn't hear the click that signified Gavin ending the call; he'd already tossed his Shell Cell towards a dilapidated subway car rotting on the unused train tracks. It met a damaged window, yet Raph's heaving breaths silenced its complete shattering as he barreled forward.

'Ya selfish son of a bitch, Gavin!' he thought while punching the car's metallic side. 'Just ya wait; the moment Nia wakes up, I'll be her first call…An' she will get up. It won't be a sleep like her mom's. It won't…'

The hothead snarled then punched the car again, denting it. 'Why did she keep insistin'? Wh—what if the seizure was the start 'a somethin' worse 'cuz 'a the Anemia? What if…what if he takes her away for real, forces her ta relocate? What if she really can't make it back…?'

The idea was as frightening as Splinter dying. It burned Raph's insides and left his eyes stinging. Just the thought of his wife's shy smile made him damn her father. And his fists repeatedly met the subway car until they bled

.

Michelangelo admitted he was distracted. It'd earned him two missteps already, so he shook his head to keep focused on Starberry Girl.

"Problems, Figo?" the heroine asked. She flashed a smirk from her perch on Lacio Circus' perimeter fence, which fell once she landed in the shady area beyond it.

Mikey's hand outstretched to catch her shoulder, though her slender form instantly straightened, cutting short their connection.

"To touch a woman without permission is highly inappropriate," Hoshi noted with a tinge of play.

Mikey couldn't help noticing how her crossing arms was a ruse to rub her chest. "Are you hurt?"

"Just burnt a little."

"From what? Why wasn't I there?"

"Tranquillo." The impish smirk returned as she sauntered by the hero. "It just needs a little more salve."

"Do you have any with you?"

Tossing a look over her shoulder, Starberry snorted. "It can wait. Why so worried?"

"Guess I'm a little sensitive right now." Scratch that; he knew he was. And he felt incapable of smiling while following his partner around the circus' outskirts. "My sister was hurt today."

"The one you're doing research for?"

Mikey nodded, although he stuck close to the heroine's heels. "She collapsed at work, and, well, we don't know many details."

"Work?" Starberry's echo sounded reminiscent and her thin lips pursed when she rounded a tent and faced him. "Why'd she collapse?"

"We don't know much more than that," the mutant admitted with a heavy heart.

"Why not?"

"Her father doesn't want us to see her."

Hoshi raised an eyebrow. Mikey didn't see it because of her eye mask, but he sensed it.

"She's my brother's wife. And her father…isn't fond of her choice."

"But to deny you details? That's harsh."

"There's more to it."

"I see. And now the whole situation makes you want to baby me?"

"What? No. You're capable. I just—uh, uh—ei!"

Michelangelo yelped. Not in pain, but surprise. A force had met his plastron, knocking him on his carapace, and he caught a glimpse of pale limbs like white snakes uncurling from his body. The assailant recoiled before the hero jumped to his feet. By then, Starberry Girl held the butt of her staff at his attacker's throat.

"Wait," Mikey interjected. "He's a kid!"

"Who made the first move," Hoshi countered. She sounded more severe than necessary, and seemed to realize this when she met Mikey's mask.

"Let him explain," the mutant said while Hoshi retracted her weapon.

"Me? You're the trespassers!"

Michelangelo held his hands up in surrender then grinned at the dark eyes boring into him. His friendly sign did little to ease the boy's tenseness. At least, Mikey felt he was a child. His head was bloated compared to the proportion of his shoulders, and his body's remainder looked to have been stretched by some medieval torture device. However, his face held a youthful appearance, meant for one no older than thirteen.

"Got enough to stare at?" the dark-haired boy spat.

"I'm not gawking," Mikey said gently.

"Whatever. Just get out; the circus is closed tonight and these are private quarters."

"Is that so?" Glancing around, the hero noted that the trio stood in a long alley of tents, whose path was unlit and barely detectable since the crescent moon hid behind partial cloud cover.

The kid growled when Mikey's attention landed on him again, and he shook an arm that ended in a claw-like hand. "I know why you're here, Titan. Forget it. You'll only get Rose in trouble with Ringmaster."

"What's your name?"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Barry, what's going on?"

The long kid sighed in annoyance, rising from the asphalt as two figures joined the group. Mikey was surprised by how Barry reached his height, but not by who exited a slender tent towards the side; the heavily tattooed man and conjoined women were familiar faces who'd already proven their tenderness towards children.

"These are the guys Rose was talking about, Zebb," Barry said, chin up.

"Calm down, Barry," Ulla soothed. Well, Mikey thought it was Ulla. She was the twin on the right…right?

"We know you're still upset about what happened at Warner-Frost," the second twin added while lifting a left hand to his head. She combed his thick bangs tenderly, so Barry glanced away.

"I didn't want the lady meddling, but…I didn't want her hurt either."

"You—" Mikey swallowed with great difficulty. "You saw someone hurt today?"

Barry huffed, yet thankfully met the hero's gaze. "Some lady's been digging into our business at a…place we used to visit. And something weird happened."

"Like what?"

"She was talking then just…stopped. I—I think it was a seizure. She got really still then her eyes rolled backwards and she started shaking. She fell over, hit her head on a sofa or a box or—"

"An end table," Hoshi muttered.

Mikey's eye ridges furrowed when he glanced at her. He wanted to question how she knew, except Barry continued after shrugging his little shoulders.

"I think she was bleeding, but I—I couldn't tell. My priority was getting Rose out of there because the blonde was making too much noise."

"Blonde?"

"The volunteer girl. She"—Barry sent Zebb a sheepish look—"she was there too…"

"If another adult was present, and you weren't going to get help, maybe she had no choice," Starberry added.

"Adult?" Barry folded his arms. "Doubt it; she hardly looks older than me."

"Oh?" Hoshi flashed a smile—the kind Don showed whenever he prepared for payback from one of Mikey's pranks.

"It doesn't matter," Zebb interjected. "Neither of you are ever going back there. I know Rose wants to know if the lady's okay, but it's too dangerous now."

"Speaking of, didn't she want to see you?" A twin asked Barry.

"Probably to scold me, Unna."

The middle-aged blonde tucked a few hairs behind the boy's ear and smiled alongside her twin. "Can you blame her for being disappointed?"

"All she's ever wanted is to make friends," Ulla finished.

Barry frowned, as if the thought filled him with guilt. Still, he stayed quiet and nodded towards his circus brethren. They watched him leave down another alley on their right then set their sights on the hero.

"Hello," Michelangelo told Zebb with a weak wave.

"You again," the beefy man replied, flat.

"Still doing research?" Ulla and Unna asked in unison.

Mikey sent them a nervous grin when they crossed their three arms together. "About that—"

"We aren't some project to be put in a paper," Zebb interjected.

"So we'd appreciated it if you stayed away from our kids," Ulla and Unna added.

"We don't mean any harm," Mikey said, sending Starberry a quick glance.

"Just being here is harm enough."

"Ulla, right?" The hero waited for the right twin to nod. "We talked with Rose three days ago. We told her we'd come back and help."

"An admirable thought," Zebb noted, "but there's nothing you can do. We're bound to this place because of money and social issues. You can't alleviate that, can you?"

Mikey grimaced, yet fought a frown. "There gotta be something. Barry and Rose are miserable and—"

"We're aware." Zebb cut in with a ferocity that expanded his muscles and tribal tattoos. Unna brushed the back of her hand against his large bicep, and soon his body deflated like a calmed puffer fish. "We couldn't offer them happiness here, merely survival," the tanned man continued.

"When we met Rose while traveling towards New Delhi, she was named Aja. Do you know what that means?"

Mikey shared a look with Hoshi before shaking his head at Unna.

"It means 'goat'. And her parents were not shy about telling her why. 'I have given birth to an animal child; I must be cursed with this goat,' her mother would say. Rose was sent to her by her god, though, so she would not kill her. But those in Gauri Phanta treated her like livestock. She—" Unna's voice wavered as she sought breath.

"She would've died there, near the outskirts of Nepal," Ulla added. "We offered her food and shelter in exchange of exploiting her condition. If Ringmaster is happy, we have that much at least."

"People can't go on like that without burning out."

The three circus workers met Starberry's hard stare evenly, their hands intertwined. "Believe us, we know," they all said in drear tones.

"I was nearly arrested for assaulting Barry's superficial brother when we returned to Sacramento last year."

"Zebb's charges were dropped, but"—Ulla and Unna glanced at one another—"it severed any chance of him going home."

"Not like he wanted to," Zebb noted with a subtle growl. "He'd rather strangers call him 'Lobster Boy' instead of family…"

"Were all of you raised in such terrible conditions?" Mikey asked, his stomach sour.

"Some more so than others," Zebb answered lowly. His gaze drifted to Ulla and Unna until they sensed it and their clenched hands shook as he squared his super wide shoulders. "That's all in the past. Now, we look for the future. When Rose joined us, it was like the last piece of a puzzle had come together. She abandoned her first name in favor of something beautiful, so we must as well."

"I thought you said there was nothing we could do."

Zebb's head shook. "There's nothing you can do, Titan. This mission is mine."

"Got a plan, Muscoli?" Starberry questioned with a huff.

Zebb's stoniness was beginning to remind Michelangelo of Melody, and he half expected a dry comeback from the man. Instead, Zebb pulled Ulla and Unna closer, as if their nearness kept him focused. His severe face glossed over the duo one last time. Then, he guided the blondes away, saying,

"If you really want to help, go back to saving your city. Those bombings haven't gotten any better, and I don't want to face a war zone when we leave."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hoshi cried behind them. It was too late, though; they'd retreated down the path, away from the tent they'd emerged from. "What's with these guys? It's like Palermo all over again."

"What happened in Palermo?" Mikey stiffened when he received a glare. "Okay, dropping the subject. Now what?"

"Now we head home. I have someone to meet. You're lucky I squeezed in this much time."

"What kind of someone?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

He really would. Saying that would make him sound pitiful though, wouldn't it?

"Buona notte, Figo. I'll be in touch."

"Oh, Hoshi!" Mikey called as the heroine turned. "Take care of that burn, okay?"

Starberry sent a dirty look at first. But then it morphed into a sly grin. And he swore she withheld a laugh before disappearing into Lacio's sea of tents.

Hun thumbed several glass bottles inside an open briefcase. They were no taller than three inches, recessed into spots designed for their shape in a sheet of foam, and he twirled as he considered tossing his phone aside.

"I expected your man to be here already," said a snide voice on the other end.

"You aren't the only appointment Pierce has to attend tonight, Nikt," Hun retorted, eyeing the boring grout lines of his cement office.

"But unlike that child, I also need to keep up appearances. It was hard enough acquiring these fingerprints and I can't wait forever while everyone else thinks I'm at lunch."

"Little late for lunch, isn't it?"

"Not for night owls."

Hun chuckled—a curt action. "You sound as if you fear being caught. Yet you approached me with our deal."

"A deal which must be handled with more care than late meetings. While I may not be high-profile, I still have connections to maintain."

"These are the same connections you're trying to frame?"

Nikt paused then inhaled loudly. "Can't you do more than Hub attacks by now? I've given you everything you need—hair, clothes, motive, and now fingerprints."

"Do you want this done right or fast?" Hun rolled his eyes when he pictured the dealer's unimpressive glare—like the fool's pitiful physic could instill any kind of fear in the King of Dragons. "You listen to me: we'll deliver as soon as you acquire in-depth information on my soldiers. Not a moment before. Understand?"

"Yes," Nikt answered, begrudging.

"Wait for Pierce. He's checking in on two people growing close to your precinct, so he shouldn't be far. Meanwhile, don't ever call this number again."

The gangster hung up without warning. Nikt didn't deserve any and Hun was convinced if he withstood any more whining, he'd end the whole deal by killing the man. 'Generally, I'd be amused at the idea of a Blue Pig sabotaging another, but Nikt pushes my patience's boundaries…'

He was a busy man, after all, troubled with many matters. Since Purple Dragon numbers were thin, a certain approach was required to expand his territory while safeguarding the productivity of his revenue. This included a new screening process for members—to keep them on the right side.

'Kanker believed he could get away with his side dealings. If I knew the Forty-Fours had an ounce of honor for their members, I'd use that dirty associate as leverage. But their head is like me, all business. So they'll rot in chains until I have a use for them.'

Hun slipped his fingers behind a bottle to remove it from its home. Bending his elbow, he drew it close, studying the clear liquid inside.

'Melody Gray. For you to deal with us again must mean something dire. Has something happened that warrants antibiotics and steroids? If that's the case, I should keep these around for my own cyborgs, should something more than ion discharging be needed. What a use it's been having a doctor on the team.'

The blonde smiled when he thought of the PD's latest addition. But it didn't last long before he remembered why they had kidnapped her.

'Switchblade is getting better. Doctor Jensen will grow used to the new arrangements in time. We've gone too long without a health care plan, and I can't take any risks with my cyborgs now that Black Lotus is gone…'

Hun sighed then squeezed the bottle in his hand as he swiveled his office chair. Glaring through the window, he tensed his jaw, and looked over the land he longed to rule.

'Soon,' he thought with a sneer. 'I'll destroy those damn Forty-Fours and with no more competition, I'll expand. I just need a little more time…'

.

A/N: Trouble's brewing. Don't worry; we'll get some action pretty soon. *evil grin* Next up is "Place", which is all about cyborgs and cops. :D